Mayor supports demolishing former Prentice Hospital

Mayor Rahm Emanuel supports Northwestern University's plans to demolish the former Prentice Women's Hospital in Streeterville and replace it with a new medical research laboratory.

The contentious battle over Prentice, designed in 1974 by architect Bertrand Goldberg, pits the university against preservationists, which have sought to have the structure at 333 E. Superior St. designated a historic landmark.

Mr. Emanuel wrote that the new facility would help position Chicago as a hub for scientific discoveries. He also said it would create 4,000 permanent jobs and attract more than $300 million a year in federal funding.

A spokesman for the mayor confirmed the position.

Mr. Emanuel said he sought commitment from Northwestern that three historic Gothic-style buildings on the Chicago campus would be preserved. They include Wieboldt Hall, which houses the School of Continuing Studies and the Kellogg School of Management's Chicago offices and classrooms; the Montgomery Ward building, which has Feinberg School of Medicine offices; and the Levy Mayer building, which holds several Northwestern Law School offices.

In a statement, the Save Prentice Coalition, a group formed to advocate for preserving the vacant former hospital, drew a distinction between its belief that Prentice should be saved and reused with Mr. Emanuel's position.

"Northwestern says it can only conduct important medical research and create jobs by tearing down Prentice. Apparently, Mayor Emanuel finds this argument persuasive. We do not," the group said.

Northwestern said in a statement that the university was "very pleased" to learn of Mr. Emanuel's support for rebuilding on the Prentice site. The school has plans to build a new biomedical research facility on the site.

"Forcing Northwestern to preserve an outdated building that does not meet the University's needs would have a significant detrimental impact not just on Northwestern, but also on the Chicago metropolitan area," senior vice president for business and finance Eugene Sunshine said in the statement.

Northwestern says it intends to argue its case Thursday before the Chicago Landmarks Commission. The commission is set to consider a proposal to assign preliminary landmark status to Prentice. Landmarked buildings cannot be torn down.

“We're obviously very disappointed and very confused about the order of the process,” said Jonathan Fine, executive director of Preservation Chicago, a member of the Save Prentice Coalition. “We were told that the commission would consider Prentice for landmarking sometime in the fall. We waited for the October agenda and it wasn't on the October agenda. We waited for the November agenda and it was on the November agenda, and two days before that hearing was to take place, the mayor basically made a judgment call.

“The fact is that the mayor has already decided the fate of Prentice — it was very clear by his statements — so we're not sure what the purpose of the hearing will be,” Mr. Fine said.